The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Yoswiftxe2x80x99.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good form and substance.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross made by the Inventor in June, 1994, in Salinas, Calif., of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Colon, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection identified as 0098, as the female, or seed, parent.
The cultivar Yoswift was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in November, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence colors and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Yoswift has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Yoswiftxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Yoswiftxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Anemone-type inflorescences that are about 5.1 cm in diameter and with large anemone centers.
2. Attractive white ray and dark purple-tipped disc florets.
3. Very freely flowering with numerous inflorescences per stem.
4. Early flowering, response time is about 50 days.
5. Dark green foliage.
6. Thick and strong stems.
7. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences maintaining good substance and color for about three weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the cultivar Mascota, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,994. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum and the cultivar Mascota differed in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have shorter leaves and shorter petioles than plants of the cultivar Mascota.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have more inflorescences per stem than plants of the cultivar Mascota.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have slightly smaller inflorescences but larger anemone centers than plants of the cultivar Mascota.
4. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more upright than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Mascota.
5. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have shorter peduncles than plants of the cultivar Mascota.